According to research, dogs may actually really be able to discern if a person’s good or not.
This isn’t something new: movies and life stories often show us that animals seem to have a sixth sense about people.
Dogs seem to have an ability to differentiate a good from a bad person.
And, this is a common belief among dog owners and they will all tell you that their dog can recognize the bad vibes in the room.
Science Seems to Have Dog Owners’ Back on this One
Japanese Kyoto University decided to find out if this is really the case. They conducted three-part experiments to determine if dogs really have this capacity.
The dogs that took part in the experiment did a series of trials that were specially designed to see how the dog would react to people who lied to them.
According to the research team, this study provides great insight into dogs’ behavior. And, it also reveals that dogs’ fears aren’t always only in their minds, but actually real.
The dog owners in the study were instructed to point to a food container. Their dog would run to the container with food inside.
The next phase was to point to a container without any food. The dog would run to the container again; however, this time, they were disappointed because there was no reward.
The dogs became stressed and anxious due to the inconsistency of the gestures and results.
On the third try, all of the 34 dog participants ignored their owners’ hand gestures after they were lied to on the second attempt.
Their previous experience revealed to them whether this human was lying to them or not.
What’s more, the scientists also found that how other people treat their owners will reflect their dog’s interaction with them.
For example, if someone is showing aggressiveness towards their owner, dogs won’t accept any treats from this individual.
Are Dogs Really Able to Smell Fear?
According to many scientists, dogs are able to sense fear.
This is why there is an urban legend saying that you should never show fear around a dog because it may attack.
In fact, in a study with 694 people, those who were emotionally stable and confident had a lower risk of getting bitten than the ones who were afraid.
Dogs have a sharp sense of smell and are able to smell the chemicals and pheromones released during stress and fear.
Thanks to their sharp sense of smell, dogs are often included in police work as sniffing dogs for drugs or weapons or in the medical world as sniffing dogs for diseases.
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